Improvement in peach cutter and stoner



J. W. LOWRANCB.

Peach Cutter and Stoner.

No. 217,887. Patented July 29, 1879.

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fl TTORJVEY UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

, JAMES W. LOWRANGE, OF MOORESVILLE, TENNESSEE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PEACH CUTTER AND STONER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 217,887, dated July 29,187.9; application filed February 3, 1879.

'forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation, partly in section; Fig.'2, a front view, and Figs. 3 and 4views of the cutting-blades.

Similar letters of reference in the several tlgures denote the sameparts.

The object of this invention is to improve the construction and generaloperation of ma` chines for cutting peaches and removing` the stonestherefrom and the invention consists in a spring cutting and stoningblade made in two parts, each part having a curved center to admit thestone, and two cutting flanges or win gs to sever the peach, the twocutting-wings ot' one part being normally in contact with thecorresponding wings of the opposite part throughout their whole extent,so as to operate as a single blade in dividing a peach into halves.

In the drawings, B is a suitable base or table, and A is an inclinedspout or chute fixed upon it to direct the cut and stoned peaches into asuitable vessel or receptacle placed beneath the lower edge of theincline.

An opening, a, is made vertically through the incline and table, and thetwo-part knife G C is fixed to the upper edge of the opening in thetable, and extends up through the incline, as shown.

At the back edge of the table is arranged an upright, D, having ahorizontal guide-arm, d, in which is a vertical guide-hole directly overand in line with the vertical axis of the knife.`

To the upper end of the upright is pivoted a hand-lever, E. A rod, F,extends from the lever down through the guide-hole and terminates in ahead, f, concave or flat on its under side, by which the peach ispressed down on the knife.

The knife is made, as above stated, in two parts, one of which is showndetached from position.

the machine in Figs. 3 and l. Each partis composed of sheet or platesteel of a'springy character, and is constructed with a central verticalconcavo-convex rib, m, and with two side llanges, n a, arranged in thesame plane and slightly oblique to the rib, the two side ilanges and thecentral rib,however, blending, and the whole blade becomingconcavo-convex near its lower end. This peculiarity ot' form isrepresented in Fig. 2, in which the whole blade is shown asconcavo-convex from the lower end up to about the point o, where thecentral rib begins to appear, and above which said rib becomes more andmore strongly marked until it terminates at its upper end in a nearlysemi-tubular form. The side wings, a n, begin to appear at the samepoint o, and become ilatter and more strongly marked uutil theyterminate at their upper end in straight sharp cutting-edges ondiametrically-opposite sides ofthe central rib. The blade thus formed isstrong and yet flexible, and the inherent temper ot the steel permits itto yield for the passage of the stone through the tubular center, andthen causes it instantly to resume its The lower end of the blade may besecured to the base or table at the edge of the opening a in anysuitable manner, as by a tang driven into the wood, or a right-angledflange attached to the wood by screws or rivets.

rlhe two parts C C are placed opposite to each other, their lower ends,if preferred, slightly apart, as shown at o, but their upper ends heldclosely together, so that the cuttingedges of the flanges an of one partare in close contact with the corresponding cutting-edges of the otherpart, and the whole becomes, as it were, one cutting-blade with atubular center.

The operation of the device is simple, convenient,and thoroughlyeifective, as I have dem onstrated by a very considerable use forpractical purposes. The peach is placed on the blade and the lever isbrought down, forcing the stone down through the tube and cutting thebody of the peach in two parts, which drop on the incline and slide intothe basket or other receptacle. The spring-blade opens to permit thepassage of large stones, and instantly readjusts itself when they havepassed down through the tube into their separate receptacle. Thepeculiar form ofthe blade gives clearance to the stones as they passdown.

I am aware that a two-part blade, one part of which is adjustable towardand from the other, has been proposed; but such parts were not held incontact by spring-power, and therefore are not thel equivalents of myblade.

I am also aware that two blades supported by horizontal spring-arms, soas to yield and allow large stones to pass, have been proposed. Suchblades, however, Were not springs in themselves, but were rigidthroughout their entire. length, and therefore required to be lnountedand applied in the manner indicated, and were not equivalents of myblade.

My blade differs from all such previous blades in that the body of theblade is a spring or springs, and the dividing-cutters n n of one partlie flat against those of the other part, whereby, when a stone passesthrough, it opens the blade along the line of the dividing-ed ges n uinstead of at right angles to such line, as heretofore. The bladeconstructed in this manner is superior to the others above referred toin point of self-adjustability, strength, durability, ready clearance,and practical efficiency, and is, besides, more easily and cheaplymanufactured.

One great advantage that it possesses arises from thefact that the stoneas it passes through opens the two parts along the line of thecutting-edges a n, thereby assisting in splitting the peach apart, theedges an having already entered the peach, tending to force it asnnderas they recede from each other, and thus clear the pulp from the stoneand facilitate the operation of the instrument. This advantage resultsfrom the combination of the cuttingedges, and would obtain even if saidedges were moved by an independent spring-powerinstead of the inherentsprin giness of the blades thelnselves, which arrangement would beanequivalent of that part of my invention set forth in my second claim.

I therefore claim as my invention- 1. The spring-steel blades C C',constructed with the central rib, m, at the upper end running out towardthe lower end, and having the two side wings, n 11, at the upper endblending with the central rib toward the lower end, substan tially asdescribed.

2. A steel cutter constructed in two parts, each having a sharphorizontal cutting-edge curved outward at its center and straight at itsends, lthe straight portions of one part being held against the straightportions of the other part by spring-power, and the two parts whenopenedseparating along the line of the cutting-edges, substantially asdescribed.

JAMES W. LOVVRANOE.

Witnesses:

I. A. EVANS, R. D. JOHNSON.

